MLS will conduct a weighted lottery for the services on Thursday afternoon, the league announced.

The teams that have thrown their hat into the ring for the lottery are the Vancouver Whitecaps, Toronto FC, Houston Dynamo, FC Dallas, Real Salt Lake and Los Angeles Galaxy. The odds for the lottery will be determined earlier in the day prior to the scheduled 2 p.m. drawing.

Whichever team wins the lottery for Nguyen, a Dallas-area native, will be prohibited from any other player lotteries during the 2012 season.

Here are a couple of more items from around MLS:

EARTHQUAKES MAKE STADIUM PROGRESS

While the Houston Dynamo announced the next step in their new stadium progression Wednesday by agreeing to a naming rights deal with BBVA Compass bank, the San Jose Earthquakes made headway on their stadium project as well.

The club had a development permit approved on Wednesday, which was the next hurdle to clear in order to commence construction on the new facility. According to the San Jose Mercury News, the plans to get started on the $60 million soccer-specific venue can proceed as long as there is no appeal to the decision.

The 6-foot-3, 22-year-old Lampson hails from Hilliard, Ohio, and just completed his junior season with the Buckeyes but will graduate later this month. He joins former Louisville forward Aaron Horton as Homegrown Players on the Crew's roster and joins Will Hesmer and Andy Gruenebaum among the team's goalkeepers.

Toshack didn't have to wait long to find a new team, as he was scooped up by the Portland Timbers on Wednesday as well. Toshack worked as an assistant along with current Timbers head coach John Spencer when they were both together on the Houston Dynamo staff in 2007-2008.

Toshack had been with TFC for the last three seasons.

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Which team do you hope to see land Nguyen? Surprised at any of the teams that opted out of the lottery? Excited at the prospects of San Jose's new stadium? What do you make of the goalkeeping coach carousel?

I don’t know if Nguyen will succeed in MLS, but I do find it interesting that four of the six teams in the lottery are four of the five best teams. I think it’s indicative that these teams know what they’re doing, and I question why some lesser teams are sitting this one out. I don’t buy that it’s a question of cap room, since teams like LA, RSL and Dallas probably don’t have any more cap room than any other side — and I don’t buy that it’s a question of need because those teams clearly already have quality at almost every position.

I’m beginning to sound like a broken record, but there’s one team that has skipped every one of the lotteries this year, even though they had the best odds of winning almost every one. This team has also sat on the sidelines this offseason, scouting while other teams were busy making quality signings. This team has missed out on the playoffs the last four years, and every sign points to continued misery in the year ahead. The front office seems to be MIA, without the courage or imagination to actually take chances.

It may be a matter of not wanting to miss out on the “next big thing.” I don’t know if there are any other Nats who may return any time soon, but winning this lottery rules a team out of the next one. A team like LA or RSL is happy to add some quality and potentially miss out on something better down the road since they have tons of talent. But teams near the bottom may wish to pass on someone who cannot miraculously turn the team around and hope to scoop up some better talent in the future. It may also be a risk thing: Lee isn’t a proven MLS player. If he fails in LA, they have enough talent to cope (and enough talent to compensate for a learning curve if he takes a while to adjust.) If he fails in a place like NE, or doesn’t take immediately, their on-field performance will likely suffer more.

“The teams that have thrown their hat into the ring for the lottery are the … Los Angeles Galaxy.” Arena is on one hell of a shopping spree. I can’t imagine LA has much clout in this sort of lottery, considering we just won the Cup.

Then, why are Toronto and Vancouver in this one? They don’t care about this next big thing?

One question to which I don’t know the answer — Are we still in the 2011 lottery rules, so that Vancouver is at the bottom? If that’s so, then it really makes no sense to sit this one out. It’s December 15, and there won’t be another lottery in 2011.

Does anyone know what the wait process is for a team that won a player via the lottery? For example the Quakes won David Bingham last spring. I’m shocked that are not going after Nguyen. Is this because they have to wait until next spring again before throwing their hat in? I thought once the season ended MLS hit the restart button with every team that won a lottery player or does a team have to wait 365 days before it can enter the weighted lottery again? thanks

I also thought Nguyen could have been a great fit here in San Jose:
* SJ has the largest Vietnamese population in North America: link to en.wikipedia.org
* SJ greatly need an attacking mid-fielder who can control tempo and connect to wingers/strikers. Isn’t that what Nguyen does?!

Is that number for the Quakes’ stadium right? They’re only spending $60M?!?! KC just spent $200M and Houston’s is in that ballpark as well. What are they building the place with, Erector Sets? I can’t possibly see how $60M gets you a stadium in CA, where a) labor is more expensive (b) materials are more expensive (c) permitting is more expensive and (d) building code requirements are more involved (there’s a reason they’re named the Earthquakes). SJ fans, please enlighten me!

Harris County and the City of Houston are splitting the cost of the land wich was 15 million, and 20 million worth of improvements around the stadium with power and water lines and things like sidewalks and green areas.

That’s about 35 million. The Houston Dynamo are putting up 80 million with about 2.5 of that from Texas Southern Universtiy so they can play 5 home games a year, or 6 I think.

That’s 115 million. San Jose’s stadium is small only 18K and very simple in a shoe horse design if I’m not mistaken.

It will be similar to a Small college or big High School stadium with just metal raised stadium seating not so much concrete tiering of seating. Or at least from the look of the renderings on the Quakes latest updates on it